Physical Metallurgy of Beryllium and Its Alloys

Some of the physical metallurgy aspects of beryllium and its alloys have been briefly described and discussed in this paper. To start with, many of the attractive properties of beryllium and some of its major applications have been mentioned. This is followed by a short discussion pertaining to the polymorphism of the metal and the stability of the relevant phases. The solid solution behaviour of beryllium and the formation of beryllium rich intermetallic phases have been dealt with subsequently. Some of the broad characteristics of the phase diagrams of binary beryllium systems have then been mentioned. A short account of beryllium based as well as beryllium containing alloys and composites has been provided after this. The next topic to be discussed is the deformation behaviour of the metal, with particular reference to slip systems, stacking faults, twinning modes and fracture modes. This is followed by a brief account of grain size effects and of recrystallization and grain growth in beryllium. Finally, the brittleness problem in beryllium has been discussed.